Replica ‘Mawson’s Hut’ could be coming to Hobart

The freezing lands and glaciers of Antarctica are quite a distance away from the Tasmanian capital Hobart, but a piece of Australian antarctic history could be remade to sit in the grassy area beside Lark Distillery.

The Mawson's Hut project involves the construction of a "full-scale replica" of the hut that was built and occupied by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) over 100 years ago.

Project organisers are planning to build the hut close to where Sir Douglas Mawson and his team left for the AAE in 1911.

The original Mawson's Hut still stands at Cape Denison in Antarctica today, but Mawson's Hut Foundation chairman David Jensen said that most Australians knew very little about the importance of that expedition.

Mr Jensen told The Mercury that $650,000 was needed to create a tourist attraction that would "educate the public about the expedition and Australia's connection with the polar continent".

The Mercury mentioned that the Mawson's Hut project has "full government support".

"It will enhance Hobart's reputation … as the gateway to Antarctica for the Asia-Pacific and generate revenue for ongoing conservation of the huts at Cape Denison," Mr Jensen said to The Mercury on March 18.